Comments by "Andy Dee" (@AndyViant) on "Nuclear submarines for Australia just started a new Pacific military alliance against China!" video.

Australia does have a domestic nuclear industry, albeit a very very small one. Lucas Heights has a nuclear reactor, and the current reactor has been in place since 2007. Not exactly a huge industry, but none the less we are not exactly completely unaware of such things.
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Well, given we're talking about construction in years to come, heading up as far as 2040, more likely a replacement of the Astute class.
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@Conan-ny1um Won't be seawolf based. Far too expensive. Won't be a straight Virginia Class either. Probably something smaller than that. Australia doesn't have enough submariners to run 8 Virginia class subs.
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France is can be angry with the change of heart, and the $2.4 Billion they have already gotten. Plus all the contract break fees which should easily add up to close to another Billion dollars. But then again, perhaps they shouldn't have nearly doubled the contract costs from $50 Billion to a current $92 Billion (and still rising)? Anyone faced with such blowouts would have to consider axing a contract. Simply put, France priced themselves out of the contract and Australia had to walk away.
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@dbooth2008 We have a NEW (ish) reactor that was laid down in 2007.
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@arvinoo5881 if you look at how effective the Collins Class subs have been in wargames against America, we can do that right now. In fact, in those conditions, shallow water - the diesel subs we have are going to be more effective. Nuclear reactor subs are not as stealthy as a diesel electric running off battery power. What Australia gains out of nuclear powered subs is range.
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@Gustave The Nile croc I don't. The project was already $42 Billion over budget which is why Australia pulled the pin. France simply blew their own contract out of the water with huge projected budget overruns even before construction had started.
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@simonrano8072 The Rafale would be a better deal than the F35's. Maybe Australia should buy some to sweeten things over with France.
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The most obvious choice, since the Astute class are now basically being finished up, is to use the Astute class as a base for the Australian model. This would mean that hulls could start being laid down now. Given Australia's ongoing shortage of staffing issues for the Collins class, getting a smaller sub with reduced manpower requirements would seem to be a critical part of Australia's needs. Even the Astute is a far bigger boat than we've got in the Collins Class.
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